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This is a great department where students can have experiences that will enrich their lives and prepare them for the future. Our programs provide the exciting opportunity to study individual development, family relationships and consumer issues as they affect each other, and to learn how to improve the quality of life for individuals and families in many settings. Our mission is to provide high quality undergraduate and graduate instruction to help students develop greater personal understanding and prepare for successful professional careers. For those who are exploring the professional options provided in this major, we are available to answer your questions and to help you make an informed decision.

The mission of the Department of Human Development and Family Science is (a) to provide students with a comprehensive, integrated knowledge of families and individuals across the life span as appropriate preparation for careers in human services and/or graduate study, and (b) to conduct research on the variety of factors and contexts relevant to human and family development. The goal of the Department is to enhance the quality of life for individuals of all ages through teaching, research, and service in a manner consistent with the University's land grant mission. The Department recognizes the importance of an ecological approach to the study of human development and families, and utilizes a systemic approach in teaching, research, and service. Interactions of individuals and families with the economic, political, judicial, religious, and educational systems are emphasized. The Department also serves as a resource base for citizens of North Dakota in the area of individual and family life.

The School of Family Life has over 1,000 undergraduate majors, either pursing a degree in Family Life or Family and Consumer Science Education. Degrees in Family Life are offered with an emphasis in either Human Development or Family Studies. The School has COAMFTE-accredited masters and doctoral programs in MFT. Masters and doctoral degree graduate programs are also available in Marriage, Family, and Human Development. In addition, the School administers the university-wide Gerontology Program. Besides offering high quality learning experiences for students, faculty are actively engaged in research on family and human development-related research.

The Department offers comprehensive programs that cover all aspects of families throughout the life cycle: infancy, childhood, adolescence, emerging adulthood, midlife, and aging. The goal of the department is to provide an educational experience that promotes the integration of knowledge and professional practice from the fields of human development and family science. Primary objectives are to prepare researchers and scholars to generate knowledge about individual and family development and behavior over the life span, as well as educate professionals who will provide educational, counseling, and advocacy services needed for children and families to function more effectively. The department includes a marriage and family therapy clinic, a child development lab, and an extensive outreach program along with a considerable portfolio of funded research. This scientist-practitioner model reflects the goals of The University of Georgia, a flagship, Research I, land-grant institution integrating research and its application to enhance the quality of life for all citizens.

HDFS is a leader in applied interdisciplinary scholarship focused on reducing risk and enhancing resilience within individuals and among families across cultures and generations. The distinguishing feature of HDFS is the interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary integration of instruction, research and application between and among human development, family science, early childhood education, gerontology, and marriage and family therapy. Because integrative approaches are necessarily broad, the department's focus is on the many ways resilience may be discovered, developed, mastered, and maintained across human processes and contexts.

The Department of Human Development and Family Studies offers two majors. One in Early Childhood Education and one in Human Development and Family Studies. The major in Human Development and Family Studies has concentrations in Child Life, Family Studies, and Adolescence and Youth. The Department also offers a minor in Addictions in Families. The concentration in family studies provides an understanding of the development of the family system and the dynamics of family relationships. It leads to certification as a Family Life Educator by the National Council on Family Relations. This concentration prepares students to work in a variety of educational and enrichment programs such as parenting programs, family service agencies, industry, schools, social-service, churches, home economics, and 4-H extension. This concentration is also well suited for students interested in pursuing graduate degrees in marriage and family therapy as well as other areas in family studies.

The Department offers a master's degree in human development and family studies with concentrations in Human Development and Family Studies, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Parent and Family Life Education. The Parent and Family Life Education program leads to certification as a Family Life Educator by the National Council on Family Relations. The Department also collaborates with the Department of Psychology to offer doctoral study in Developmental Science.

The School of Family Studies and Human Services (FSHS) offers diversity of academic programs, scholarship, and outreach that address the health and well-being of individuals and families in Kansas, the country, and the world. The complexity of the School is reflected in the wide range of careers in human services pursued by graduates such as work with families, early childhood education, marriage and family therapy, personal financial planning, and speech-language pathology. Students follow career paths that take them all over the world and into numerous types of opportunities.

The Auburn University Department of Human Development and Family Studies is an interdisciplinary program committed to advancing and applying knowledge about individuals and families in a changing world. The Department operates the Center for Children, Youth, and Families that includes the Auburn University Early Learning Center and the Harris Early Learning Center of Birmingham, both accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and the Marriage and Family Therapy Center. The objective of these centers is to enhance the instruction/service learning, research, and outreach missions of the Department. Further, The Alabama Cooperative Extension System provides the infrastructure to enable the researchers and practitioners affiliated with the Department and its Centers to disseminate knowledge to the citizens of Alabama, the nation, and the world.

The primary emphases of the department are human development and family processes within the context of larger sociocultural systems. The distinguishing feature of HDFS is this contextual focus. Individual lifespan development is viewed as transpiring within a web of close relationships/family relationships, and family systems are seen as both context for individual and interpersonal behaviors and as units nested in larger sociocultural environments. Our unique niche is a commitment to family diversity and a multicultural perspective in research, teaching, and service. In each of these areas, we focus on the diversity that characterizes human development within the family context. Because we define family diversity and multiculturalism broadly, our focus is on the multitude of ways that individuals within families may differ, including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, family structure, nationality, geographic location, and sexual orientation.

HDFS provides outstanding undergraduate, masters, and doctoral level education in family studies and human development across the life span. Among the top programs of its kind, HDFS offers an interdisciplinary approach to family relationships, child and adolescent development, early childhood education, adult development and aging, as well as child and family intervention, prevention, and policy studies. The program is served by a faculty of thirteen, four of whom hold integrated appointments with UW-Extension. All of the faculty are professionally active with strong records of national and international scholarship. Faculty conduct basic research to understand families and their members and applied research and outreach to enhance individual and family life.

Through an integration of the root disciplines involved in lifespan human development, the Department of Family Sciences facilitates the development of learning and competencies in students who will enhance the quality of individuals' and families' lives in a diverse global society. The Family Sciences faculty empowers students to be proactive and systemic in approach.

The Human Development and Family Studies concentrations are part of the Department of Educational Psychology in the College of Education. These program areas prepare professionals through study, research, and practical experiences to enhance the quality of life and education for children, youth, adults, and families. Graduates are prepared to assume diverse roles in parent/family life education, child life, early childhood intervention, teaching, research, administration, and other professions requiring knowledge of human development and family life. The undergraduate and graduate programs are connected with the Certified Family Life Educator credential through the National Council on Family Relations and with Early Childhood Intervention certification through the state of Texas. We have had an active Child Life program since the 1980's, and we train public school teachers who certify in Family and Consumer Sciences.

Ours is a student-centered department offering bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in family science. Our graduate program offers emphasis areas in aging, adolescent development, couples and family therapy (master's level only), family finance and economics, and family processes (see http://fam.uky.edu/emphasis for more infomration). Our therapy program is fully accredited, and the Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) credential is available for graduates of our bachelor's and master's programs. Within the department we have the Adolescent Development Lab and the Family Interaction Lab, we operate the Family Center with clinical and educational programming, and the departmemnt is affiliated with the college-wide Research Center for Families and Children.

Human Development and Family Studies fosters an understanding of human development and interpersonal relationships through a multidisciplinary and ecological lens, inclusive of biological, psychological, sociological, socio-cultural, and international perspectives. The program recognizes and addresses the central role of diversity and interdependence among families and communities in the process of human development, and promotes basic and applied research, as well as practice, in the service of individuals, families, and society.

The Department of Human Development and Family Studies is a multidisciplinary department that applies contextual and systemic frameworks to the study of individual development and relationship processes across the life span through research, teaching, and service. The department offers a wide range of courses in the areas of human development and family studies. A Bachelor's degree from the department prepares students for a variety of human services vocations and/or for pursuing graduate study. An advanced (i.e., Master's or Doctorate) degree prepares students for careers as university or medical school faculty, researchers, and human service providers.

The department features an interdisciplinary faculty with training and advanced degrees in such areas as child development psychology, educational psychology, family studies, social psychology, family life education, early childhood education, gerontology, anthropology, and women's studies,. The graduate program in child and family studies, integrates theory and practice from these fields with a major emphasis in child development, family studies, and early childhood education. The major goal of the programs is to facilitate understanding of the development of the individual over the life span in the context of the family and the broader community.

Areas of Study

Development (Child, Human, or Family) - Doctoral

Development (Child, Human, or Family) - Master's

Development (Child, Human, or Family) - Undergraduate

Family Science/Studies - Doctoral

Family Science/Studies - Master's

Family Science/Studies - Undergraduate

CFLE Approved

Last Updated

September 6, 2013

The discipline of Family Science is vibrant and growing. Visit Family.Science to learn more.